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In the end I bought the plans for Danny Greene's "Chameleon" nesting dinghy. I couldn't find any plans for a dinghy as light as I had originally wanted (40lbs) without having to sacrifice durability. The Chameleon nesting dinghy should weigh in at 80lbs and since it can be assembled and dissembled in the water, one can easily manhandle the 40lb halves quite easily.

04-05-2013 12:26 AM

peterchech

Re: good light rowing dinghy plans?

I have built 2 kayaks skin on frame. Strong and very light, but wouldn't last long as a tender IMO. We tend to beat the sh*t out of those things.

A foam strip round bilged dinghy would be much lighter than ply, because the compound curves allow minimal material use. That said, a proper round bilged glued lap dinghy would also be very light. Both methods require much more time than a simple stitch and glue pram. Sailing time.

I would just carry a kayak if I had the space, but since I don't I think I'm gonna build a very simple and cheap nesting dinghy. Half the weight.

04-04-2013 06:07 PM

manatee

Re: good light rowing dinghy plans?

Isn't there a rule-of-thumb about boatbuilding that says something like:
light-
strong-
cheap-
---you can have any two of these in your boat.

04-04-2013 05:08 PM

Skipper Jer

Re: good light rowing dinghy plans?

I would like a lapstrake dinghy, very light, collapsible (see porta-bote) capable of rowing, motor and sailing, and carry 3 people and be around 8 ft in length. And not cost an arm and leg.

04-04-2013 04:43 PM

Alex W

Re: good light rowing dinghy plans?

Skin on frame is a building technique. You make a lightweight space frame skin, then have a tight fitting fabric over it. This is a common technique for home building kayaks. In kayaks it allows you to build a kayak that is about half the weight of a similar fiberglass boat. I don't know if the weight will scale the same weight in dinghy sized objects.

I have a Dyer Dhow Midget. It is about 75-80lbs and I can see how to easily lose 10-15lbs from it (the bronze seat mounts are clearly too heavy, and the plywood transom could be replaced with fiberglass, and you can ditch the sailing gear), but I don't see how to get it down to 40lbs. The fiberglass hull is already extremely thin and light, and I don't think I'd want it any lighter.

04-04-2013 04:29 PM

Barquito

Re: good light rowing dinghy plans?

Quote:

Have you considered skin on frame?

Is that a Ed Gein design?

04-03-2013 06:12 PM

Bill-Rangatira

Re: good light rowing dinghy plans?

Have you considered skin on frame?

02-16-2011 03:44 PM

copacabana

QuickMick, I live in Brazil and we don't have the same range of nautical products here. I can't find a hard dinghy here, off the shelf, that is well made and light. If I were in the US I'd just go out and buy one! What I wouldn't give for a Westmarine here!

02-16-2011 03:28 PM

QuickMick

just wondering, once you factor in the cost of materials and the time involved, might it not be cheaper to buy one?

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